FRIENDS’ 25th Anniversary: Looking Back at One of the Best Scenes

[On Thursday, September 22, 1994, NBC debuted the pilot of FRIENDS. The sitcom, about a group of six 20-something friends, went on to become a pop culture touchstone. In honor of the milestone, we’re doing 25 Days of FRIENDS, looking back at the show in big and small ways.]

The FRIENDS may have been there for each other, but goodness knows it was hard for anyone else to really crack into their tight-knit group. (The fact that Phoebe married someone outside of the core group is probably a minor miracle.)

And while their dependence on each other occasionally led to some awkward moments (Monica’s bridal shower, where Rachel and Phoebe accidentally invited a bunch of people no longer in the bride-to-be’s life), the moments when they had self-awareness were pretty hysterical.

One of my favorite moments of the series was when the group was in Monica and Chandler’s apartment, having a meal, when someone knocks on the door. The six characters look at the door in shock, look around at each other (with Phoebe going as far as counting to make sure they’re all there), before Chandler hesitantly approaches the door to discover Rachel’s sister.

When you’re watching the show, it’s often easy to forget, hey, they probably should have other people in their lives. Or even, hey, they probably shouldn’t be able to get the exact spot at Central Perk nearly all of the time. (The show had some fun acknowledging that over the years, too.) But the show was smart about poking fun at itself at the right moments.

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• Which Current TV Stars Appeared on FRIENDS?

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